After two brilliant seasons in the Big Apple, Jalen Brunson was named the 36th captain in New York Knicks franchise history on Tuesday, the team announced.
“The New York Knicks have a deep and storied history and today we are immensely proud to add to that lineage by naming Jalen Brunson as our captain,” team president Leon Rose said. “Jalen is a natural-born leader and I am confident he will continue to represent our organization, fans, city, and his teammates with the same heart, grit, and class that he has displayed each and every day since he came to the New York.”
Brunson is the Knicks’ first team captain since Lance Thomas in 2018-19 and the 18th guard to hold the role.
The 27-year-old is coming off a career year, garnering an All-Star selection with averages of 28.7 points, 6.7 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game. He finished fifth in the NBA MVP voting and was named to the All-NBA Second Team while leading New York to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
In the postseason, he became the first player in NBA history to record 40 or more points and five-plus assists in four straight playoff games. His 210 points over a five-game stretch during that postseason run was also the most since Michael Jordan in 1993.
Averaging 26.5 points per game in his first two regular seasons in New York, Brunson owns the second-highest career scoring average in team history behind only Bob McAdoo and has won the most games (97) over a two-year stretch since the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons.
This summer saw Rose secure Brunson for the next four years with a $156.5 million contract, which only grew his cult-hero status considering he left $113 million on the table to ensure he can find the right pieces to make New York a legitimate championship contender.
